Just Another Day
by DA830
Summary: After a rainy day, all Lucy want is for her husband and child to stay clean. Her wishes are not granted. Nalu/child fluff. Oneshot. Please read and review.
**(A/N: Just something I thought of a few days ago and wanted to get it on paper. It took me a total of 35 minutes to write this. Enjoy.)**

 **Credits to whoever made the cover.**

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 _Butterflies._

They had always interested Kari Dragneel. Flitting about, almost _begging_ to be caught. Of course, he didn't know what he would do if he _actually_ caught one…

...but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Hut! Humph!"

Lucy Heartfilia glanced round at her little, adorable, blond boy jumping at a butterfly hovering close to his face. She smiled, shook her head and went back to re-hanging up their clothes on the line connected to the side of the Dragneel-Heartfilia residence. It was going to be so much work, after the clothes had been left out in the pouring rain. Not to mention the ground, which would have inevitably been turned into a soggy mess. Thank the gods for Natsu, who dried up the ground around the house to let her do her chores; she had no intention of getting all dirty again…

"Ya need this?" Natsu's voice floated over to her from the basket they were taking clothes out of. He held up a pair of lacy underwear, no doubt, belonging to her.

She snatched it out of his hands. "That's mine, thanks," she said hotly. She didn't need anyone else seeing her undergarments more than they already had.

Her attention drifted back to Kari, who was still leaping for the poor insect. An idea came to her, just to get Natsu out of her way while she was doing her chores. "Hey Natsu, could you watch over Kari there? Make sure he stays out of the mud. Last time that happened…" she shuddered in disgust. The little boy didn't seem to care about how dirty he got. She had to spend a few hours cleaning him up after _that_ incident. And gods knew if she would ever look at Aquarius the same again...

"Mmm," Natsu grunted in agreement. He walked off, leaving Lucy to sigh in peace and continue her chores.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, though, exactly what she dreaded would come to pass sooner than she wanted.

Kari tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to try and grab the butterfly one last time. "Grrr...ha!" He pooled all his strength into that one jump. Unfortunately, all the winged creature had to do was to fly a bit higher to avoid the determined child's clutches. Apparently having had enough, it flit off along the muddy path from their house to the guild hall.

Kari wouldn't give up that easily. Natsu watched fondly as his son plodded off on the path, chasing the butterfly. Too late, he realized that his wife's instructions not to let him get dirty were currently not being followed...with a sigh, he climbed a nearby tree and made to follow his son unnoticed. _A little bit of mud never hurt anyone,_ he reasoned.

"Natsu? What are you doing up there?" _Crap! Lucy saw me!_

"Um, just getting a better lookout!" he replied nervously. To his relief, she turned back to her laundry with an approving nod.

 _Meanwhile…_

Kari was having a tough time keeping up. The path, as expected, was soggy and wet after the rain, turning it into a slippery mess. It was muddy of course, it was a dirt road to begin with.

"Kyaa!" he squealed, falling the umpteenth time down into the mire. He didn't mind getting his shorts dirty, his hands, or even his feet, for that matter. In fact, he enjoyed it. He had lost his sandals a while back anyways. (Natsu was having a good time watching his son from the trees. What? It was funny watching him slip and slide and in no real danger.)

He glanced up. The butterfly was still there...tantalisingly close. Almost as if it was mocking him. He ran forward-and got stuck. The mud was deeper than he had anticipated here-almost going up to his waist.

He was halfway along the path, not close to the guild, but not close to his home either...which meant that no one could help him. He didn't panic-he knew that would do no good. _Alright, so how can I get out of here? I don't know any magic yet..._

Thank the gods for Natsu.

"Hup!" he jumped down from his perch in the tree, landing with a _splat_ in the mud. Kari whipped around-or at least, as much as you can when your legs are firmly implanted in the ground. "Papa!"

Natsu grinned. "Don't worry, I'll always be here to save you." Wow, had he learned a lot from parenting or what? He took a delicate step forward…

...and sank a few inches into the ground.

"Um…"

"Papa are you stuck too?"

"Of course...not?" Natsu tried pulling his left foot free. It wouldn't budge. He sighed in resignation. "I think I am."

"Hmph!" the little boy crossed his arms and made a pouty face. The sight was so adorable Natsu had to smile. "Now that you're stuck, who's gonna save us?"

"I LEAVE YOU TWO ALONE FOR FIVE MINUTES AND THIS IS WHAT I COME BACK TO!?" Lucy's angry voice filled the still air. "BOTH OF YOU, WAIST DEEP IN MUD!?"

Birds in a faraway tree fluttered into the air.

"Yes!" the two boys chorused.

Lucy sighed again. She closed her eyes, trying to regain composure. When she opened them again, they were still there. She was standing on the side, where it was more grassy and less deep. Nonetheless, she would still have to give all three of them a nice long bath when they got home, not to mention tons of scrubbing.

"Alright, let me summon one of my spirits to help you." She dug into her purse, looking for the right one while the two boys watched her expectantly.

"Open, gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" She thrusted the key into a nearby puddle. _Ding dong._ A blue circle appeared, and out of it came Aquarius.

"How dare you summon me from a muddy puddle!" The first thing Aquarius did was scold Lucy. She cowered beneath the Bearer's frightening aura. It probably _wasn't_ the smartest idea to do that, but her husband and child had to be saved.

"It's n-not for me," she stammered. "Could you w-wash them away?" she asked, regaining her courage and pointing at the two stuck boys.

Aquarius' features softened. She's always had a soft spot for the brat's child…"Alright. But only this once!" she threatened, waving her jug in front of Lucy's face. The celestial maiden nodded vigorously. "Just get them out!"

"HuuuuuuAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Aquarius spun and water came rushing out of her jug, heading straight towards the boys.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The two clutched each other as they saw the wave, it might as well have been a tsunami for all it was worth. Unfortunately, Lucy was caught in it too as it washed away all the mud currently on the path.

"Not me, not me too!" she yelled, but to no avail. Aquarius smirked. It looked like her work here was done. She vanished into golden sparkles.

"Ugh…" Aquarius _had_ done her job. The two boys had been carried away by the tide with two squelching _pops_ and were now in a sopping mess, wet but sparkling clean.

Lucy sighed again. At least now she didn't have to give them baths.

She felt a tugging at her shirt. Kari, now barefoot, was looking up at her. "Can we do this again sometime, Mama?"

She felt a smile alight on her lips. "Maybe, Kari. For now let's go home. RIGHT Natsu?" she glared at her husband who cowered before her, not unlike Lucy's relationship with Aquarius. She turned back to her adorable son. "Let's go."

The three set off at a brisk pace along the now-cleaned path (don't question it. Logic). Just another day with the Dragneel-Heartfilia dynamic.

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 **Yea. Hope you enjoyed, please review.**


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